"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Lost New Questions: 4: Who Is Naomi's Boss?

This is another way of asking, where did Naomi get that picture of Desmond and Penny? It may not be as fundamental as some of the other questions, but it's still fun and important to consider.

Let's begin by assuming that Penny is not playing some kind of game and lying to Charlie when she tells him she doesn't know Naomi ... (although I wouldn't rule that out completely).

But if Penny is telling the truth, how did Naomi get that photo?

1. From Penny herself: Naomi hired someone to infiltrate Penny's search team, or bribed someone already on the team, or broke into Penny's premise, for information about Desmond.

or

2. From Penny's father (Charles): We know he dislikes Desmond, and wants to keep him and Penny apart. Penny's father would certainly have access to the photograph. He sponsored the boating race that ultimately got Desmond stranded on the island - was that his specific intention? - and as a very wealthy man, could be a funder of the Hanso Foundation (Dharma project), and may have some other connection to it.

My take: #1 could easily be subset of #2: If Charles did not already have the photograph in his possession, he could easily have hired anyone to get a copy of it from Penny, under whatever false pretences. Further: I think (a) the people on the boat are Dharma, (b) which is why Ben is so apocalyptic about them (after all, he killed 40 of them), and (c) Charles Widmore - Penny's father - is indeed some sort of silent partner with the Hanso Foundation.

We shall see in Season 4....

Useful links:

Lost New Questions: 1. How Far in the Future? ... 2. Who's In the Coffin? ... 3. Who's Waiting for Kate? ... 5. Is Mikhail Immortal? ... 6. What Constitutes Reliable Evidence? ... 7. Are the Flashforwards Desmond's Flashes?

Lost Season 3 Finale ... Flashforwards

Lost: Keys to What's Really Going On


And see also Lost's Back Full Paradoxical Blast: Season 4 Episode 1






The Plot to Save Socrates


"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

4 comments:

lerkey said...

I posted this on another site, but I am in full agreement that is Charles Widmore.
Penny and her father are at odds with each other. Penny is searching for Desmond, Charles is searching for the Island and suspects Desmond may have found it. So Charles sends Naomi under false pretenses to find Desmond in order to find the island and eliminating Desmond from his daughter's life.
There has been much speculation that Widmore Labs, Paik Industries, and The Hanso Foundation are in severe compitition. They are all racing to claim or re-claim the island.
My biggest issue is "The Picture"
There still maybe gaps to fill-in the Desmond and Penny saga. But assuming we've seen the last of their flasbacks, Desmond leaves Penny after the picture of them was taken. Which brings the question: How is there more than one photograph? The photographer only took one, but yet Desmond has one, Penny has one, and Naomi has one. I'm stumped.

Paul Levinson said...

If the photo were in digital form - which it would be, if it were taken in, say, the past 10 years - it would be easy for any hired hacker to get to the original, or any of the copies on a computer, and make more copies, right?

Do we know whether the photographer was using a digital camera? And, if not, whoever had the original could have scanned it online, etc... for that matter, it wouldn't be that hard to track down the negative of a pre-digital photo...

lerkey said...

I'll go back and look, to make sure, but it looked like a regular ole "Polaroid"(or similar)type to me. Even if it was digital, who would know,(or want to)track down some random photographers photos, on-line, to search for such a random, non-chalant photo of a couple enjoying a stroll? There has to be an easier way or atleast a better expanation.

Paul Levinson said...

Charles Widmore would want to track down such a photo - if he had somehow gotten a glimpse of it...

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